Post by Ramza Beoulve on Jan 28, 2019 16:32:19 GMT -5

Location: Lindblum - Gaia

Mood: Inquisitive

Status: Well

Of all the worlds Ramza had visited, this one was the one that most reminded him of his own home - except, of course, the Ivalice of the Past, of course. This "Gaia" world was also a world of knights and magic, of bravery and honor, of kingdoms and kings.

This Kingdom - and, specifically, this capital - had drawn Ramza's attention more than anywhere else. It was a fascinating place; it was, from what he had gathered, the scientific and industrial cornerstone of that world. A place that had invented wonderful flying machines and propulsion engines. Everything was just so fascinating.

But Ramza didn't have time to wander around. As usual, a man needs to eat, and Ramza was doing so by his usual way - that is, mercenary work. Specifically, he had received a contract to capture "The Bandit King", Amarant Coral. In the past few days, he had been tracking him throughout the land; a rumor had led him to Limbdblum and, once there, he had more solid leads on where to find the target.

A less honorable man would have ambushed the bandit, but that was not Ramza's way - and, frankly, he didn't want to be made a fool again; not after what happened in Ivalice. He would take the man down if he was indeed a threat to public safety, but first, he would check.

His lead led him to a pub in Lindblum's residential district. He found the target as soon as he entered; the man stood out easily in the crowd, both for his height and his bright red hair.

Ramza sat in one of the tables, ordered a glass of juice, and observed, for now.

Post by Amarant on Jan 28, 2019 18:03:27 GMT -5

Indeed, "The Bandit King" had made the journey to Lindblum, but not on business as one might assume however, it was work that had brought him here. After weeks of nothing but boring GUARD DUTY and worthless bounties that weren't worth his claws, Amarant must've been hiding his brooding far more shoddily than usual. The Queen had caught wind of such behavior and, either in an act of pity or mercy, commanded him to take some time off! No work... no battles... Nothing but vacation for the red-head man. At first, he had been enraged... but slowly, he had come to accept this as something he HAD to do. He wouldn't lie... it was tempting to just ignore Garnet's request and simply go on a hunt...

...But that would be dishonorable, wouldn't it...?

"Feh." He spat as he mulled over the events that had led him here, walking through the open door-frame of a simple tavern... He could not fight, he could not train... The most he could do, it seemed, was sit down for a drink.

Believe it or not, the monk had enjoyed a pint-and-a-half in his life-time, enjoying the taste of REAL alcohol whenever he could get his hands on it. Not that shoddy beer they sold by the tankard to common man... but REAL spirits... That was the good stuff...

The Red-headed man TOWERED above the other inhabitants of this bustling establishment, his long sanguine hair and pale blue-ish skin standing out from the rest of the crowd. Without a word... nor even a glance towards anyone in particular, the red-head man walked over to perhaps the only free table in the entire Tavern and sat himself down heavily upon it's chair, kicking leather-booted foot upon the face of it. He seemed not to care about the proper table-etiquette expected at a place as... respectable as this, the Monk merely wishing his drink... and time alone to himself.

Rocking back in his chair, Amarant glanced over at the waitress coming by, holding up a finger as she opened up her mouth to speak! He could tell by her expression she was not pleased and was more likely there to ask him to put his foot down instead of to take his order! This was not something he needed right now...

"The strongest and most expensive bottle you have." Amarant requested, handing the woman a small bag of coins. "For the drink and a tip." Instantly, her face lit up, the waitress bouncing away as she counted her coin... He watched her go for a bit... before shrugging and whipping out a small collection of papers, bounties he intended to hunt once this little hiatus was over.

Rogue Mages...A Dragon trying to push in on a village...A small collection of cactaur...A thief that was procrastinating his appointment before a jury...

He shuffled through them as if he were reading a news-paper, completely oblivious to the man who had come to seek him out.

Post by Ramza Beoulve on Feb 6, 2019 14:06:14 GMT -5

The target hadn't seen Ramza yet; perhaps he was not as perceptive as the Knight had been told, or perhaps he was far too distracted by the drinks and the waitress to notice Ramza.

He seemed well-liked enough; people didn't regard him with suspicion - in fact, some of the folks in the bar seemed to regard him with friendliness or, at the very least, respect.

But, apparently, observation wasn't going to give him much more; Amarant immediately started reading a newspaper. The man was not very friendly, and barely interacted with anyone before requesting his drink.

Sighing, Ramza rose up. He'd have to engage him directly. He called for the waitress with his hand. "A glass of orange juice, please. Deliver to me in that table." He said, pointing to Amarant's, while he went to it.

As he arrived to it, Ramza sat in the chair opposite to Amarant's. "Amarant Corral?" He called, inquiring if that was indeed his name.

Post by Amarant on Feb 6, 2019 16:47:46 GMT -5

No, Amarant had no reason to give this guy any extra attention. He was a stranger and his outfit allowed him to easily blend in with the rest of the adventurers that wandered about the bar, let alone the man's lack of interest in finding a drinking-buddy to begin with. All the red-headed man required was a few moments to himself as he settled on a bounty to exercise on... though such a boon appeared too much to ask for in this case.

A blonde man, apparently a fan of juice, sat across from the flaming Amarant, the Bandit-King simply refusing to acknowledge his presence... until he chose to acknowledge his. With his name being spoken, the Mercenary lowered his bounties just enough for him to peer over the top, twin emerald specks shining out from beneath his long, sanguine dreadlocks. Who was this man...? What did he want...? Could he not see that he was intruding on the moment of peace forced upon him by the monarchy?

"Yeah." he responded coldly, his expression stone, immobile. He was really not in the mood for stupid questions right now... With his lack of respectable opponents and abundance of boring work, the Bandit was simply left in a frustrating state of nirvana, a state of absolute boredom.

Post by Ramza Beoulve on Feb 14, 2019 16:10:40 GMT -5

Amarant had aknowledged him, and was clearly unhappy about it. Ramza sustained his stare, unflinching; the Knight's eyes studied the man ahead of him. His posture was aggressive; the man clearly wanted to be left alone, and couldn't care less about being polite.

How to very un-noble.

"My name is Ramza Beoulve. I've heard many things about thou, and wanted to verify the accuracy of such rumors" the Knight replied.

The waitress came back; Ramza nodded his head and grabbed the glass. "Thank you, milady." Smiling, she also put Amarant's drink in the table before going away to attend to other clients.

Ramza took a sip before continuing. "I've heard thou art a thief and a scoundrel. That thou've stolen many valuable possessions over thou life. That thou've killed people. Are these accusations true?" Ramza was not sure he believed all his client had said; some sounded a bit exagerated. He hoped this talk could clarify this.

Post by Amarant on Feb 15, 2019 7:03:57 GMT -5

Aggressive was probably an overstatement. If Amarant were aggressive, they wouldn't be sitting there, enjoying this... "pleasant" conversation. In fact, this boy would've likely been out on his ass, knocked out and bleeding both inside and out... but such things were not worth thinking about when you were under orders to relax. The Mercenary, rather, was simply displeased at this unwanted interruption from someone he didn't know, the worlds "Get-Lost" forming upon his lips... but never quite making it past them. Time with Garnet and the King had taught him patience... especially when it came to stupid questions. Royal Guards couldn't just walk away from positions such as that.

He said not a word as the man introduced himself as something Amarant didn't bother to remember, the Mercenary simply glaring at him quietly from across the table... until their drinks arrived. The man ordered, what smelled to be, orange juice, the Mercenary taking his bottle in hand, ignoring the glass he was given. Nothing like drinks directly from the bottle, as they say.

Content with the throat-scalding alcohol, the Red-Headed-Man was content to return to his reading and block out the rest of the world, letting the belly-warming haze of drink silence the unwanted and leave him alone one way or another...

...That was, until his unwanted drinking partner began spouting off rumors...

Amarant actually paused as he drank for a second or two, the words "Thief" and "Scoundrel" running through his mind. Now, who could be saying these things about him...? He was a warrior, a SOLDIER. He slew things and bounty-hunted for money... He left thieving to people like King Zidane...

...Was someone trying to ruin his reputation...?

"I am no thief." Amarant responded, letting the rest of the man's questions about him being a scoundrel and killer fall where they may. Anyone with a weapon was a killer... he simply killed those with money on their head... and who he thought were deserving of the bounty of course. Monsters, Mages, thieves, all were fair game... But he had a feeling the man was imagining something far more evil.

Post by Ramza Beoulve on Feb 18, 2019 17:29:18 GMT -5

Ramza listened intently to the man's short response; what was unspoken was far more valuable than what was said out loud. Of the three accusations, the man denied a single one, the lightest one. This did not paint a pretty picture.

But Ramza was very careful with his judgements now.

Without saying anything, he took from his pockets the cutout of the bounty placed on Amarant. He placed it face-up on the table and slid the paper to the Bandit King, so he could read it. After giving the man enough time to do so, Ramza spoke again.

"I have no intention on following through with this contract if thou prove thyself to be a man of worth. I've been exploited too many times, made to hurt innocent people too many times; 'tis why I decided to approach thou here, instead of ambushing thee on the streets or something like that". In truth, Ramza would never swoop to an ambush or something so dishonorable, but the man didn't need to know that. "So, Amarant Coral, were thou a killer? And most importantly, art thouh still?"

Post by Amarant on Feb 21, 2019 7:20:19 GMT -5

"You're not very bright, are you? Either that or you're barely a bounty-hunter." Amarant rolled his eyes, growing tired of these meaningless and stupid questions. Did this man interrogate every mark he was sent out to collect? And speaking of marks... Amarant glanced down at the bounty the man threw his way, wondering where he had gotten it... He had figured the Queen had cleared his name by now... After all, they did kill death together. Perhaps this was some kind of private assassination and if it was... this man must've been the greenest killer he had ever seen in his life. Look at him... out in the open, conversing with his target, drinking JUICE.

...This was just humiliating for the both of them.

"I'm not here to answer your stupid questions, kid." The Red-Headed Man grumbled, setting his bottle upon the table before rising to his full height. The mercenary would tower above the much smaller blonde, his taller, broader physique putting his supposed hunter to shame. "...You look strong... Come outside."

Without even bothering to acknowledge the man's other questions, Amarant walked out of the tavern, leaving the man to come or stay as he wished.

Should Ramza make his way out, he would find Amarant leaning against the outside of the building, a large circle of people surrounding the establishment, forming the boundaries of an arena! If the blonde made his way out, the people inside would step out as well, as if drawn by a force to close off any escape, they would crowd about the outside of the Tavern, trapping them both inside.

"Fight me." Amarant demanded, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against, hunching over in his trademark battle stance! He seemed not to care that they had an audience.... an audience that seemed elated by this sudden and unexpected bout of surprise entertainment!

The Mercenary was done talking... Moral questions, probes into how he did his job... Now Ramza had something to prove... was he strong enough to take his bounty in the first place? Was he worthy of going toe-to-toe with the flaming Amarant?

Post by Ramza Beoulve on Feb 24, 2019 9:52:58 GMT -5

Ramza didn't flinch as the man rose, towering over him - even moreso because the Knight remained sitted, looking at him, his expression unchanged.

However, Amarant did not answer his question. Instead, the man stepped outside, beckoning Ramza to follow him. Sighing, the Knight did. A small commotion was forming outside; people smelled blood, and gathered to watch, like sharks.

But this action already gave Ramza a clue about his target's character. He could have attacked Ramza at the bar; he could have sucker-punched him, or made someone a hostage in order to escape. He did none of those things; instead, he called Ramza out for a honorable duel.

Ramza respected honor.

He stepped out and looked straight into Amarant's eyes. As the man entered his battle posture, Ramza stayed the same way he was before - relaxed, not a hint of aggression in his posture, his hands far from his sword.

Post by Amarant on Mar 17, 2019 15:51:11 GMT -5

Amarant frowned as this man outright refused his challenge... and this guy called himself a bounty-hunter...? A warrior even? The Redheaded man paused, his expression a mix of confusion and frustration... What was with him? Even Zidane, a shameless thief if nothing else, had enough mettle to accept a life-or-death one-on-one. Either this guy wasn't at ALL what he presented himself to be... or he was simply borderline terrible at it.

"...If it's about the people here, don't worry about them. I'm the one you should focus on." Amarant advised half-heartedly. He didn't know what else to do but back down... but if he did so, what was to stop him from following the red-headed man back inside and tormenting him with more questions?? Nothing, that's what. It came down to a simple question: Will Ramza accept this duel... or will he leave...? Amarant wasn't the kind of man to simply stand around and chat about nothing while there were better things to do. When warriors meet, they fight. It was simply the way of the world.

Post by Ramza Beoulve on Mar 18, 2019 11:20:39 GMT -5

Location: Lindblum - Gaia

Mood: Investigative

Status: Well

"I'm not worried about them, Amarant" Ramza replied, sternly. "But I see no reason for us to fight yet. Thou may be my target, but I'm not going to strike down a man without knowing his character. I'll forfeit the contract if I decide thou art not a scourge to society. So I ask thee again, Amarant Coral: do you kill men for a living?"

He took a look around the crowd; their reactions would give him a hint. And, indeed, he saw something in their faces - revolt. Againt Ramza - for insinuating Amarant was a killer? Some started to boo - just anger at the fact Ramza didn't want to fight and entertain them, or was it actually because they stood with Amarant?

Was he liked by the Lindblum population? If yes, that was a hint of his character. His gaze shifted back to the Bandit King, and he analyzed his intentions, trying to gauge the truth of his next words.

Post by Amarant on Mar 20, 2019 3:33:24 GMT -5

"..."

Amarant rose out of his combat stance, his expression one of clear annoyance and frustration. AGAIN, he was outright refused and it wasn't even for a proper reason. He seemed to INSIST on knowing the man's morality before he'd dare even draw his blade to defend himself, to interrogate his target before he killed them... He was starting to think this guy was more of a pain than Zidane was when it came to this 'do the RIGHT thing' crap... When a bounty-hunter made themselves into more of an annoyance than the walking contradiction that was the monkey thief-king... then you knew there was a problem here.

"...Kid, look." Amarant grumbled, the crowd dispersing around them once they realized there was not going to be a fight. "Obviously. That's what bounty-hunting is." ...It was a stupid question. A stupid question that was only worth the red-headed man's time in answering because it might get this guy to disappear.

"I'm a warrior. I don't walk around with rubber swords and paper armor, thinking this is some kind of game. When I fight? I fight for keeps, got it?" His words were harsh, his voice was sharp but Amarant was running low on patience... He had a jobs to do... a drink to finish... If there wasn't a fight to be had here, there was no reason for him to stay, Garnet's requests or not.

Without another word, Amarant turned his back on Ramza and shuffled his way towards the nearest tram... so he could get the hell out of this city...